Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

Here’s the second part of our interview with Warren Spector. In here, he mentions the long winding road on how Epic Mickey came to be and some other video game tidbit. The first part of our interview is here. And without further delay, here’s Warren Spector …

On why you need to play Epic Mickey multiple times
“You cannot see and do and play everything in the game in a single play-through. We open new doors and close off doors, not literally obviously. We close off avenues of exploration and missions and open up differ ones based on your play style — how you interact with the world and the characters and quests. To see and do and get everything in the game, you have to play through it at least three times. At least, that’s as far as we know. Some player will probably figure out how to get everything in one play through but if they do it’s not because we wanted them to, it’s because they were smarter than we are and figured it out for themselves which is a win.”

Warren Spector is one of my favorite game designers. The man is a visionary who created legendary titles such as System Shock, Thief: The Dark Project and Deus Ex, the best game of the past decade. What sets him apart from his contemporaries is that Spector’s games have a certain feel to them. They give players choice without being heavy handed. There are usually multiple ways to approach levels. And he does this while making the experience feel effortless.

With Epic Mickey, Spector releases his first game in years. I had a chance to talk to him about the game as well as other topics. We spoke last month at The Walt Disney Family Museum. He was there as part of an event celebrating the Fantasia Blu-ray release. (The timing was fitting given the themes and subject matter. The fact that it was at the Walt Disney Family Museum was also a bonus.) Here are highlights from my conversation with him.

Warren Spector on the beginning of Epic Mickey“The game actually starts with a recreation of 1936 Mickey cartoon called ‘Thru the Mirror.’ We literally did a frame-by-frame comparison of the game and the cartoon. Right down to the date on the clock and the date on the calendar. Then when Mickey goes through, he shows up in a different place.

“Mickey shows up in a 3-D recreation of Yen Sid’s workshop. Yen Sid the sorcery from Fantasia. So Disney fans, even if they’re not gamers, can find plenty to love in the game. They’ll find ways to experience their favorite Disney moments that are new and different. …

“Yen Sid is putting the finish touches on a world called Wasteland. It’s a living museum kind of like where we are. It’s a world where 80 years of Disney creativity can be honored, where characters that are forgotten or rejected can live until the world is ready to embrace them again.”